Scalability in the lab is often defined as the ability to expand lab capabilities, increase workcell productivity, and pivot into research ventures without compromising data quality. Evaluating laboratory bottlenecks can help identify intuitive solutions that alleviate workflow pressure while enabling a more proactive approach to managing your lab’s operations.
Having modular solutions also gives your lab the flexibility to face the lab scalability challenges of today and reconfigure them to address the challenges of tomorrow. These solutions can meet evolving research demands, streamline repetitive tasks, and ensure your operation follows rigorous compliance standards. When your operation is nimble, it’s competitive, which is key to continued success.
Challenges in Scaling Lab Operations
Choosing a viable, scalable solution may sometimes feel uncertain, as there’s a medley of unforeseen variables (like the surprise of COVID-19) you simply can’t predict. Any new change to your lab’s workflow also invites miscommunication, as the new solution may be unfamiliar to your staff.
Handling Increased Sample Volume
Expanding your lab’s research initiatives can overwhelm existing workflows by increasing sample volume beyond your lab’s current capacity. A larger workload can easily create bottlenecks in sample preparation, data analysis, and management, contributing to delays and errors.
Resource and Staffing Limitations
Scaling your lab while training staff on new changes may feel like you’re building railroad tracks while having the train roll right behind you. As your lab grows, the need to hire for specialized skills increases. Knowing what to hire for can be difficult if your operation doesn’t have a frame of reference on how those specialized skills would be implemented.
Workflow Complexity
As your operation grows, so does the demand for higher sample volumes and more intricate processes. A higher sample volume can overwhelm existing workcells, causing further delays in data analysis, data entry, and reporting. Managing these variables without manual protocols or automated systems can lead to bottlenecks. Where there’s a bottleneck, there’s a variable that invites errors and redundant work.
Ensuring Data Accuracy and Compliance
Maintaining data accuracy and aligning with regulatory standards becomes more challenging due to increased sample volume and procedure complexity. A larger team, additional samples, a greater variety of tests, and stringent storage/control requirements can lead to inconsistent manual procedures, compromising your lab’s integrity. Additionally, staying informed about ever-evolving regulatory standards requires more extensive documentation, oversight, and audits—straining your lab’s available resources.
How Automation Can Help Solve Lab Scalability Challenges
- Streamlining Sample Processing: Automated hardware solutions such as liquid handlers and robotic systems ensure that all tasks are identical across datasets. This assurance relieves pressure off existing workflows and lab staff since consistency is nearly guaranteed. Automated systems handling repetitive tasks also free up bandwidth for your lab staff to proactively tackle complex work.
- Optimizing Workflow Management: An automated orchestration software solution like Green Button Go (GBG) Orchestrator helps your lab to coordinate tasks across workcells, optimizing each and every workflow. It can schedule tasks, highlight how current resources are allocated, and identify optimized workflows and potential bottlenecks, ensuring better collaboration and improved overall efficiency.
- Enhancing Data Management and Accuracy: Establishing that all data is procured, managed, and stored with identical protocols maintains its reliability. Standardized processes also ensure that your lab complies with internal and external regulatory standards. If there’s a data anomaly, reviewing if it was a workflow error becomes apparent, as any miscalibration will be evident when comparing data gathered during a normal automated test cycle.
- Reducing Cost and Resource Strain: Automated tasks allow your lab staff to approach more technical aspects of their work, reducing strain on existing resources. Another byproduct of automation is that it helps minimize manual errors, improve throughput, and reduce costs around retests. Cutting down on resources used for retests can also have a positive sustainability impact on your operation.
Strategies for Scaling Lab Operations with Automation
Devising a strategy on how to implement automated solutions into your lab’s current processes while also integrating them into the future can feel overwhelming. Luckily, automation can be modular, meaning it can be reconfigured for specialized tasks within your operation as needed over time.
Automation can also provide an accurate and concise audit trail so you can review if all resources are operating optimally. If not, you can reorganize current resources so your lab can handle higher workload volumes with ease. By reducing pressure on staff, they can focus on meaningful analyses, ensuring your lab remains productive and competitive.
Assess Current Lab Needs and Bottlenecks
Conducting a workflow audit on all lab processes will help identify immediate areas of improvement in the short and long term. Reviewing how your lab conducts sample processing, data entry, or data reporting can highlight where these tasks are inefficient and identify possible solutions that benefit overall throughput.
Select the Right Automation Tools and Partners
Choosing the right automation tools is essential for building a scalable, future-ready lab. While there is no one-size-fits-all solution, the key is selecting technologies that integrate seamlessly with your existing workflows and adapt to future advancements. Liquid handlers, mobile robots, and Laboratory Information Management Systems (LIMS) can greatly enhance efficiency, but their success depends on proper implementation and integration. Before adopting any new automation solution, it’s important to visualize how it will function in your lab and assess its long-term impact.
Why an Automation Partner is Critical for Scaling
With multiple vendors offering specialized lab automation products, ensuring system compatibility can be a challenge. Rather than navigating this process alone, partnering with an automation expert like Biosero ensures that technologies from different vendors work together seamlessly, bridging gaps between instruments, software, and robotics for a unified and scalable workflow. Biosero doesn’t just provide automation tools—we act as a true automation partner, helping labs strategize, integrate, and optimize their multi-vendor automation systems. By working closely with labs, we ensure that new automation solutions align with long-term operational goals, providing the flexibility needed as workflows evolve.
Integrate Automation with Existing Systems
To cohesively incorporate automated solutions into existing resources, orchestration software like GBG can help link instruments together and enhance task coordination.
Train Staff for Effective Automation Use
Familiarizing staff with new automation solutions can prevent delays caused by troubleshooting and mismanagement. While training is a critical first step, fostering an environment where questions are encouraged ensures transparency and smooth integration. Investing in workplace learning enhances productivity, reduces errors, and improves overall lab performance.
To support labs in maximizing automation efficiency, Biosero offers comprehensive training programs tailored to different skill levels. Whether your team is new to automation or looking to advance their expertise, Biosero’s Green Button Go training programs provide hands-on instruction in workflow development, troubleshooting, and regulatory compliance. Available in virtual formats, these courses help teams confidently integrate automation into their daily operations and are available 24/7 so you can learn at your own pace.
Monitor and Optimize Automation Solutions
Regularly evaluating the KPIs of your automated systems is crucial for ensuring they meet scalability goals. Monitoring workflow throughput, identifying bottlenecks, and proactively addressing issues ensures that automation solutions align with your lab’s evolving objectives.
The Future of Scalable Labs
Evaluating how automated solutions can scale your operation upwards can be an exciting opportunity for everyone in your lab. If you’d like an overview of how automation could improve your lab’s efficiency and throughput, the team at Biosero can help. We specialize in scalable, device-agnostic, and modular automation solutions. Schedule a consultation with a field expert who can help you explore viable automation options.
